The Art of Leisure
On view through June 15, 2025
Mattatuck Museum
Waterbury, Connecticut
www.mattmuseum.org
Spanning over 125 years of American history, this exhibition explores how artists have captured the joys of leisure—travel, relaxation, and recreation through painting, photography, printmaking, and ephemera.
Beginning in the mid-19th century, increased access to public spaces, transportation, and recreational activities reshaped the American leisure experience. “The Art of Leisure” includes masterpieces by American artists—featuring iconic works such as “Bathers on the Beach” by Edward Henry Potthast, “Slow Time” by Emma Amos, and “The SS Normandie in New York Harbor” by Reginald Mars. Rare ephemera & souvenirs, including 19th-century broadsides, travel posters, souvenir plates, and Waterbury postcards, are also included. Works range from impressionist beach scenes to documentary photography and bold contemporary interpretations of leisure.
“The Art of Leisure” highlights how these transformations to travel influenced artists and the public alike, featuring works by renowned artists such as James Augustus Van Der Zee and Jane Peterson, as well as pieces by unknown craftspeople and Waterbury locals. Beyond its celebration of pastimes, the exhibition also examines the social dynamics of leisure, revealing how artists have used scenes of relaxation to explore race, class, and gender inequities throughout history.
[Image: Edward Henry Potthast (American, 1852 – 1927) Bathers on a Beach, c. 1910. Oil on canvas. Gift of Mildred Thaler Cohen, 1999; Seymour R. Thaler and Mildred Thaler Cohen Collection; 99.25.39]
